Mocca, Again!
Wasn't I just talking about how fabulous Mocca is?
Seriously, my favorite seafood salad. Never gets old. Plus, you dine al fresco - makes it even much better!
Filed under
outdoor dining
Dona Tomas
After most of the festivities for Ray and Aki's wedding, we finally had the time to have dinner with them before they left. We went to Dona Tomas in Oakland because Mexican food options are minimal in Japan.
The restaurant is cute, dark and intimate (as you can see from my poor pictures). They also have a romantic outdoor patio area with lights.We ordered guacamole that came with house made chips. Pretty good, nothing too special. Jason and I split our entrees - carnitas and carne asada, so we could share. The carnitas was a slow-roasted shredded pork with Mexican spices and served with tortillas, rice and pinto beans. The meat was a little dry and salty, but not bad. The carne asada on the other hand, was very salty. The dish was thinly sliced grilled beef with a hot chile sauce, served with pinto beans and a corn and zucchini pudding. I don't remember what the pudding tasted like, I just couldn't get over the saltiness of the entree. The ambiance of Dona Tomas is cute, but I wouldn't go back. The food lacked depth and flavor, it was just too salty for my taste buds.
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Non-Alcoholic Happy Hour
I met up with Kate, Bruce and Tony at my old neighborhood coffee shop, Cup of Joe. I used to go here a lot to do my homework, meet up with friends or just kill some time. They have one of the best deals for happy hour - $3 draft beers and I always get Stella.
But....on this particular day, I forgot my ID at home. I switched purses in the morning and left my ID in my other bag. Boo, guys never have this problem, do they?I tried to order a drink at the counter and was immediately turned down. I'm 26; come on now! I do look young (it's the Asian in me), but I was pretty annoyed because I had a long day at work and needed an ice cold glass of Stella. The barista wasn't budging, so I ordered a hot chocolate with whipped cream. I didn't feel like drinking a latte or mocha (my normal coffee drinks). The hot chocolate was surprisingly pretty good - smooth and rich. I did, however, quench my alcoholic buds by taking sips from my friends' beer. muhahaha - beating the system.
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Another Trip to Napa
I've surprisingly been going to Napa a lot more frequently this year (see related posts below). Hey, not complaining. I should go even more often, considering it's close and there are so many vineyards to discover.
Aki wanted to take her mom and friends to Napa since they've never been. We first went to Robert Mondavi and tasted some delicious reds and whites. I'm not much of a white wine person, but Robert Mondavi's Chardonnay was good, not too dry, but crisp. The crowd favorite was the muscat dessert wine. We all left the vineyard with a bottle each. :) It's the perfect and sweet - reminds me of summer. Next, we went to my favorite vineyard, V.Sattui. I really love this place, but....so does everyone else. It gets way too crowded in the tasting room and picnic area. Luckily, we were there near the end of the day and most of the tourists were leaving. I got a hot salami and provolone cheese sandwich with a dash of balsamic vinegar from the vineyard's deli. It was enough to feed two people, but I enjoyed half of it at V.Sattui's desirable picnic area. I love the simplicity of enjoying good wine on the grass in the warm weather. It's so relaxing. We spent a good amount of time in the picnic area and then the sprinklers turned on (that's their way to kick us out). I was surprised that this trip to Napa didn't call for more wine tasting, but the company was great and I'll miss them when they go back to Japan.
Related posts: I Love Napa, Part 1,2,3 / Salad in Napa
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La Boulange
My friend, Kate, came back from her month and half trip and I was excited to see her. We chatted and caught up at La Boulange on Fillmore x California.
La Boulange is the perfect day place to hang out with a friend, read a book or just enjoy a cup of coffee. It's a cute French bakery that serves homemade bread, baked goods, sandwiches, other small eats and espresso. I wasn't too hungry so I got a mocha and a vegetable tart while she got soup and fries (no idea they served fries). I was a little skeptical drinking mocha so late in the afternoon, but thankfully, it didn't keep me awake that night. The warm vegetable tart was on a thin flaky crust topped with grilled zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and onions. There was a little bit of goat cheese here and there. It was a nice snack that went well with my big mocha. Welcome back Kate!
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Last Supper in Los Angeles
My weekend trip to Los Angeles was quickly coming to an end. So far, I've had delicious food and I'm already hoping I'll come back to LA soon.
The last dinner was at C&O Trattoria in gorgeous Venice Beach. Jason and I were slightly full from the previous meal of Kogi, so we decided to split a pasta dish. It was definitely a smart choice considering their portions are huge. I can't imagine one person eating the entire dish! Our friend that recommended the restaurant suggested the prosciutto fettuccine. The pasta came with diced prosciutto, mushroom, roma tomatoes, shallots in a brandy cream sauce. The sauce was slightly too thick to my liking, but I could definitely taste the brandy. The flavors were alright, but a dash of Tabasco helped pump up the taste. There was a never ending plate of garlic rolls, which were unfortunately, hard. I like my bread warm, soft and flaky. Not baked until they're super crusty. :TThe best thing about C&O is its energy and ambiance. Every half hour or so, waiters pass out lyrics for the song, "That's Amore." The loud speakers suddenly start blasting and the entire restaurant sings. You can feel the fun, high energy of everyone in unison. There are two options of dining - indoor and outdoor. You know how much I love outdoor dining (see post) and with LA's perfect hot weather, of course we had to sit outside! :) The kitchen is in between the two "restaurants," so it's kind of cool to see the action while you're outside waiting for your table. C&O is touted as one of the "top 7 restaurants in So Cal," which in terms of food, I don't think it deserves that title. But, for large groups that want to have a good time with affordable prices and generous portions, this is the place to go. It's low key, casual and the outdoor dining is a huge plus (and frequently a must) in sunny Los Angeles.
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Second Attempt of Kogi
My friends and I had a lot of time to kill before dinner and fortunately, there was a Kogi truck near our hotel. My previous attempt was a failure, so I was hoping this time would be better. Plus, eating some Kogi was my number one mission in Los Angeles. I HAD to get some, dammit!
We arrived at the location 10 minutes before Kogi started serving (6P) and there were already 50+ people in line! I couldn't believe it and was praying it was worth the wait.Minutes kept ticking as we waited...and waited...slowly inching our way towards the truck. Plus, this time around, there was no music to entertain us, just conversations of "are we almost there yet?!, it BETTER be good and should we jump ship?" About 40 minutes later, we were at the front of the truck, knowing exactly our game plan of what to order and what we'd split. Jason and I ordered 2 spicy pork tacos, 2 (signature) short rib tacos and we'd split a kimchi quesadilla with our other friends. OMG.First bite of the short rib taco, AMAZING.Both tacos were on two tortillas, filled with marinated, barbecued meat and topped with a tasty sesame-chili salsa, romaine lettuce and cabbage in Korean chili-soy vinaigrette and sesame seeds. The tacos were bold and juicy with the perfect amount of meat and vegetables. I was skeptical about the quesadilla - cheese and cabbage? Hmm, doesn't sound like a good combination. But wow, the flavors actually work! The quesadilla was golden brown and topped with Kogi's special sesame-chili salsa. I'm not 100% sure what cheese they used, but it tasted like cheddar and was a compliment to the mild kimchi. Kogi was well worth the wait and delicious. But, I wouldn't wait more than 20 minutes for it. I feel like I have more important (haha, VERY important) stuff to do than wait 40+ minutes in line. Just not my cup of tea with my (surprisingly) low patience, but I'm so glad we didn't jump ship this time. Mission accomplished! :DSide note, read this interesting article about Kogi's typical (and long) day.
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Fro-Yo
We were so hot from the heat that we needed something to cool us down. We went to Yogurtland, a charge by the ounce frozen yogurt place with a variety of flavors and toppings.
There were so many yogurt flavors - strawberry, lychee, coffee, original, berries, cookies and cream, cake batter, blueberry tart, toasted coconut, Madagascar vanilla and chocolate. I couldn't make up my mind, so I had a little bit of the flavors I wanted to try - strawberry, coffee and original. After the self-service yogurt, you go to the topping bar that has even more options to choose from - fresh fruit, chocolate chips, gummy worms, fruity pebbles, m&ms, almonds, granola, pound cake and more.I topped mine with lychee, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and mochi. I should have added some fruity pebbles for a crunchy texture, but my combination was still good, delicious and light. We were in luck because Yogurtland was running a promotion for only 16 cents per ounce! It's usually around 30 cents, so my little cup of goodness cost me less than $3. :)
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First Attempt of Kogi - Fail.
My only request for LA was to try Kogi, a Korean bbq taco truck. In LA, there's this huge craze of taco trucks reinventing themselves and selling food that's not typical of a taco truck. Some trucks have Mexican/Chinese tacos (Don Chow Tacos), Vietnamese sandwiches (Nom Nom Truck), Japanese rice burgers (Marked 5) and even Indian food (India Jones).
I was determined to try Kogi, the original and granddaddy of them all. Since the trucks are mobile, they rarely are in the same location. So, you have to follow them on Twitter to know the exact location and time. It's a great method of intertwining the internet into one's business. Plus, it's like a game, you never know when and where the trucks will pop up. These trucks are novelty and the idea of tracking them down is fun. We looked up the nearest Kogi truck and for that day, it was at a book store's parking lot. By the time we got there, there was a massive line (I already expected this - there is usually a long line at these trucks) and music was bumping from loud speakers. I appreciated Kogi had brought some entertainment, while their guests waited patiently in line. It was extremely hot with no shade and after twenty minutes of moving only a few inches, I threw my towel in and said "let's leave." I thought I was a very patient person, but the heat makes me grumpy and the line was moving way too slow. I also felt bad that my friends were waiting solely for me in a very uncomfortable, hot situation. As we left the line and walked back to our car, I saw several people enjoying their tacos. I was bitter that I couldn't taste the deliciousness and still determined to try Kogi by the end of the trip.
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Tacos!!
Saturday's lunch in Los Angeles was a hangover's cure at Tito's Tacos. Something about greasy food always seems to make you feel better.
Upon stepping out of the car, you can smell the fried food. Sounds kind of gross, but it was comforting that this place is definitely fresh. The restaurant is small, but they are very quick and you can order inside or outside. From the outside, you can see the kitchen and employees preparing massive amounts of refried beans, salsa and frying taco shells. Jason and I ordered four tacos and a tostada that came with a large helping of fresh salsa and chips. The fried tacos were amazing. Every time I think or see these tacos, my mouth starts watering and I instantly crave them. The corn shell was still warm and fresh from the fryer. The combination of shredded beef, lettuce, cheese (extra charge) and salsa was delicious. I didn't need any of that sour cream or guacamole to enjoy this bad boy. And even better? Only $2.20 each! Everything on the menu is less than $5. The tostada was the same fried tortilla but flat and topped with refried beans, lettuce and cheese. Pretty darn good too, but I'd stick with the tacos.I usually like chunky salsa, but Tito's was the total opposite. It was a smooth puree of fresh tomatoes, onion, peppers, garlic, lime, cilantro and other herbs. The salsa was watery and made everything taste better. By having a smooth puree, it melted the flavors together, rather than tasting big chunks of tomatoes. I loved Tito's Tacos and would love to find something similar in the Bay Area. It seems like most Mexican restaurants only have soft tacos, but there's got to be something similar. Suggestions?
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